My name is Richard McBride and I have ALS. I was diagnosed in November 2012 at 57 years of age. This blog will cover my journey. Just remember, I am living with ALS, not dying from it.

Saturday, 16 January 2016

A Lazy Laptop

Katherine has her own unique way of torturing me. This morning, after getting up and making breakfast in bed for me, she announced she was leaving to go home to her place. She has a church function every first and third Saturday afternoon each month. Today is the day, and she likes to get a head start on things. No worries, I knew this was coming. So I said to her "I'm gonna have a lazy time today. I'm just going to sit up in bed and watch the snow fall outside." She said what I chose to do was up to me.

The problem was that my laptop was out in the kitchen, sitting on the table. So I asked if she wouldn't mind getting it for me. Now this was in the midst of her cleaning up after breakfast, rushing around to get out of here, making sure I had an extra quilt for the cold day and night to come, and generally doing her stuff. She did it, though. She stopped what she was doing to get my computer for me. She brought it into the bedroom. Then, wicked woman that she is, she placed it on my wheelchair, just far enough away that I would have to get up from my lazy-ass position to get it.

Then she giggled, and left.

I sat here for a while and tried to levitate my laptop towards me. No luck. So finally I got up and got my laptop, and promptly returned to my warm bed. I'm here still, looking out at the snow and wondering about the chill outside. It's -16 C out there, with a skinny snow falling, brittle, hard flakes wisping in and out, coming going. The energy of the air is sapped by that cold. But I have my blankets, and now my computer too.

Of course she laughed at me when she put my computer just slightly out of reach. It was her way of reminding me that there is a lot of difference between not being able to do something and simply not wanting to do it. She constantly reminds me of all I can do, and supports me in doing so much of it. At the same time, she does so much for me, so many of the things I might do, but might not be able to do.

Of course I laughed too. Our sense of humour is close. We both find the same things funny. That's one of the reasons I love having her around. We laugh with each other. We laugh at each other. We make fun, of ourselves and of each other. Yet in all of this there is absolutely no malice, no meanness, no judgement. We're just having fun. The laptop thing was funny. That's all there is too it.